Read our latest blogs and letters to the editor.
Our blogs aim to help guide you through your later years and cover a wide range of subjects including essential advice for the over 50s, opinion pieces from our editor and our committee and help planning your time in retirement.
You’ve probably heard of ‘Lasting Powers of Attorney’, but you might not be too sure what they’re all about. In a nutshell, a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) means that if (and it’s a big if) you ever lose mental capacity in the …more- A bereavement support group gives you a safe space to share experiences and emotions with people who have a shared knowledge and understanding of where you might be at. The time between someone dying and the funeral is often a …more
- Many people experience a greater sense of loneliness at Christmas so here we bring you some ideas to help you survive during our most important festival. According to Age UK almost a million older people say they feel lonelier at …more
- Making a Will is something everyone should do, but even as we get older many of us shy away from doing so. Here we look at the reasons why you should make a will and how to go about it. Why do we shy away from making a will? Is …more
- Before the year 2000, when a woman went to the gym, she would gravitate to the cardio room either with a friend or by herself. The treadmill, bike, or steppers were taken up mostly by women. The free-weight area of the gym was …more
- Safety is very important when riding a bike, and there are some easy safety measures you can take to protect yourself. Wear a cycling helmet. Falling from a bike or being knocked off in an accident can cause head injuries, so a …more
- Here is our latest blog from Forum Chair, Malcolm Kielty MBE on the abundance of hindsight and the scarcity of foresight! Isn’t hindsight a wonderful attribute? Right now, everyone has hindsight. Media commentators, experts, …more
- Bike use during the coronavirus lockdown has surged, with many of us going back to two wheels. But how do you choose the right bike for you, with so many types now on the market. The British Government has encouraged people to …more
- Mum Blog: Living the lockdown with my teenage daughter! When I look back to Christmas, our thoughts and plans for the future, it feels like we are living in some weird dystopian novel. Increasingly worried about the environment, …more
- Forum Chair Malcolm Kielty compares the challenge of beating the coronavirus with a gardener’s travails with weeding out the humble dandelion. Some folk just don’t get it do they? Keep consistent with social isolation and …more
- Read our latest blog from Forum trustee Michael Riley on how he is dealing with the enforced lockdown! 13 April 2020 So as one of a group of people which it appears will be locked down for 12 weeks, and this is only week three …more
- Why do we say and do such peculiar things? At a time of national crisis, when every news headline is about the coronavirus, here are some light-hearted reflections, from a reader, on the strange things we say and do. We hope …more
- By now, many of us will have been self-isolating at home for weeks, shielding ourselves from the coronavirus outbreak in the UK. Right now, more than ever, we need things to keep us busy and entertained at home. Happily, through …more
- Guidance for the public on mental health and wellbeing during the crisis Public Health England has published a really useful guide for the public on looking after their mental health and wellbeing during the coronavirus outbreak. …more
- Phil has noticed a quiet revolution that’s starting to get a hold in Calderdale! Just a few quick thoughts on a quiet revolution that has been happening under our noses in the last couple of years. Cycling has always been a …more
- Mike has found a new pastime and he’s enjoying it! As we get older and then retire it becomes a problem as to what we might fill our spare time with? I had been involved as a volunteer at our local rugby club but as I got …more
- Malcolm’s got a new pair of glasses and he’s not sure he likes what he’s seeing! So now it’s official! I’ve got the certificate from Specsavers to prove it and the bifocals to show I that I’ve been driving …more
- Michael chooses to count his blessings as a significant birthday comes and goes! There are benefits in getting older – and especially on reaching 80! I had not realised this until two official letters fell through my …more
- Tony’s New Year resolutions are influenced by the realities of growing old and yet tinged with unexpected optimism. Funny isn’t it how procrastination can fill so much time? It’s been 25 years since my wife and I plunged …more
- Mike muses on the way our personal histories can be so easily lost and suggests a solution I read recently in the paper that someone had suggested that all grandparents give their grandchildren a piece of paper and a pen/pencil …more